Liverpool closing in on Arsenal

Press, 3 April 1989, Page 21

Liverpool closing in on Arsenal

NZPA-Reuter London

The defending champion, Liverpool, timing its late-season charge to perfection, beat the title contender, Norwich 1-0 away on Saturday to move to within two points of the English league leader, Arsenal.

A first-half strike by the captain and Ireland midfield international, Ronnie Whelan, was enough to secure Liverpool’s seventh consecutive first division win which enabled them to leap-frog Norwich and move into second place.

Arsenal, which play Manchester United at Old Trafford today, have 59 points while Liverpool are on 57 and the thirdplaced, Norwich on 56. All three teams have eight

games left. Liverpool, after a relatively modest first half to its season in which it was plagued by injuries, has rekindled its tittle defence and reached the semifinals of the F.A. Cup with a run of 15 unbeaten matches.

The Liverpool domin-. ated in midfield against a Norwich side seeking to win the division one crown for the first time and seized the lead after 21 minutes.

The full-back, Steve Staunton, made the inroads with a break down the left flank, and when the England winger, John Barnes, failed to control the defender’s cross, Whelan nipped in to drive home the winning goal from 10m.

Liverpool’s drive to-

wards the top — it was 19 points adrift of Arsenal five weeks ago — produced Norwich’s biggest crowd for more than five years, 26,338, for a clash that transcended all else in the programme.

The off-field behaviour of the Nottingham Forest manager, Brian Clough, was as much a focus of attention as the on-field action in his team’s 4-1 drubbing by the F.A. Cup holder, Wimbledon — its heaviest away defeat .of the season.

Mr Clough, currently banned from the touchline after striking supporters who invaded the Forest pitch recently, abruptly left his seat accompanied by a policeman after only 18 minutes, by which time Forest trailed 2-0.

Local police denied that Mr Clough had been asked to vacate the directors’ box after his first verbal outburst in front of guests who included the Lord Mayor of London, and apparently insisted it was his own decision to retire to the dressing room.

Early goals from Lawrie Sanchez and Paul Miller gave Wimbledon the upper hand but the striker, Nigel Clough, the manager’s son, pulled one back after 31 minutes. However, late strikes by John Fashanu and Sanchez sealed the home side’s success.

Results.— English division one: Aston Villa 2 Luton 1; Charlton 2 Middlesbrough 0; Derby 1 Coventry 0; Everton 4 Queen’s Park Rangers 1; Norwich 0 Liverpool 1; Shef-

field Wednesday 3 Millwall 0; Southampton 1 Newcastle 0; Tottenham 3 West Ham 0; Wimbledon 4 Nottinghan Forest 1.

English division two: Brighton 2 Manchester City 1; Chelsea 5 Barnsley 3; Hull 1 Portsmouth 1; Leeds 3 Bournemouth 0; Leicester 1 Oxford 0; Oldham 1 Bradford 1; Shrewsbury 2 Crystal Palace 1; Stoke 2 Plymouth 2; Sunderland 2 Birmingham 2; Swindon 1 Blackburn 1; Walsall 0 West Bromwich 0; Watford 3 Ipswich 2. Scottish premier.— Aberdeen 1 Dundee United 0; Celtic 1 Rangers 2; Dundee 2 St Mirren 1; Hearts 2 Hibernian 1; Motherwell 1 Hamilton 0.

English division three: Brentford 2 Aidershot 1; Bristol Rovers 1 Blackpool 0; Bury 0 Huddersfield 6; Cardiff 1 Bristol City 1; Chester 0 Bolton 0; Chesterfield 2 Swansea 0; Gillingham 1 Northampton 0; Mansfield 3 Wolverhampton 1; Notts

County 1 Wigan 0; Preston 1 Fulham 4; Reading 3 Port Vale 0; Southend 2 Sheffield United 1.

English division four: Burnley 3 Hereford 3; Carlisle 2 Hartlepool 1; Darlington 1 Tranmere 2; Exeter 3 Peterborough 1; Leyton Orient 5 Grimsby 0; Lincoln 0 Stockport 0; Rotherham 0 York 1; Scarborough 3 Halifax 1; Scunthorpe 2 Doncaster 1; Cambridge United 2 Wrexham 0; Colchester 3 Rochdale 0; Torquay 2 Crewe 1. Scottish division one: Airdrieonians 3 Queen of the South 0; Clydebank 2 St Johnstone 2; Forfar 0 Ayr 0; Kilmarnock 0 Falkirk 0; Morton 0 Meadowbank 2; Partick 0 Dunfermline 0; Raith 2 Clyde 0. Scottish division two: Berwick 1 Queen’s Park 1; Brechin 2 Albion 1; Cowdenbeath 1 Arbroath 1; East Stirling 4 East Fife 2; Stenhousemuir 2 Montrose 3; Stirling 3 Dumbarton 1; Stranraer 1 Alloa 4.